Work with another student and role-play a conference between a director and a cook, assuming the two roles as follows: Director: As a director, you are responsible for monitoring food preparation and serving methods. You have read numerous government publications on the best way to prepare vegetables to retain nutrients. You know that cooking time should be short, that the amount of water used should be small, and that the vegetables should be prepared only minutes before eating. Furthermore, you know that children’s foods should be cut in bite-size portions, that is, stew meat in half-inch cubes, bread slices in quarters, fish sticks halved, and so forth. Your cook prepares all vegetables early in the day and keeps them over low heat until serving time. Even though the recipes indicate that meat should be served in bite-size pieces and portions should be small, the meat comes from the kitchen in the same sizes in which it was delivered from the meat market. Cook: You were hired for this job in the child care center after being an assistant cook in a restaurant for five years. You have looked forward to having your own kitchen, and you are proud of your previous experience and what you know about preparation of food in quantity.
As director, you must call the conference and deal with the problem. Keep in mind that you are committed to maintaining open communication and to promoting the personal and professional growth of your staff.
